Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
